Suffer The Children
by protejerinnocencia
Summary: A series of kidnappings catchs Beth's attention. She's not the only one following the story, though. Will it be deja vu all over again?
1. Three is Company Four is a Pattern

_Three is Company Four is a Pattern_

The room was quiet for a while. Mick just sat behind his desk, staring at the couple facing him. This all felt too familiar to him. They hadn't even opened their mouths but he knew what they were going to say anyways.

"We know you are a very busy man, Mr. St John but please, we need your help," the woman said, clutching a photograph.

"What can I help you with?" he asked.

"Someone kidnapped our son, Michael. He's only five years old," the woman replied. She handed Mick the photograph. A small boy with sandy hair and bright green eyes stared up at him. He flipped it over. Scribbled in the corner was 'Michael Pierce May 8, 2007'. He turned the picture back over and set it on the desk before him.

"Have you filed a police report?' he asked them. It wasn't that he didn't want to help them because he did. But this was bringing back memories; ones he didn't want to think about.

"The police are looking but they haven't found anything yet. He's been missing for almost two days," Mr. Pierce explained.

"And they said…the survival rate as time goes on…gets worse," Mrs. Pierce rasped, fighting back tears.

Mick let out a breath. He felt a strange feeling wash over him as he watched the couple trying to comfort each other. He wanted to tell them that they couldn't give up on their son. That he needed for them to believe he was still alive.

"That may be true but you need to believe he's still alive. Michael needs for you to believe," Mick said and stood up.

"Does this mean you'll help us?" Mrs. Pierce sniffled.

"Yes. I'm going to find your son for you. If it's not too much trouble…I'd like to take a look at where he was taken from," Mick answered. Just then Mick's phone began to ring, vibrating its way towards the edge of his desk. He glanced down at it and scooped it up.

"Excuse me," he said and took a few steps away before answering.

"Hello?" he said.

"Mick. It's Beth…are you….busy?" Beth said from the other end.

"I'm with clients right now," Mick stated.

"Can you call me when you're done? It's really important," Beth said. Mick could hear the urgency in her voice as he assured her he would call her back soon. He ended the call and let out another breath.

"I'm sorry about that," Mick apologized. The Pierces stood up and donned their coats.

"He was taken from the park down the street from our house," Mr. Pierce said, scribbling down the address and their phone number.

"I'll call you if I find anything," Mick assured them as they walked out. Once they had left he ran a hand over his eyes. This felt entirely too familiar for it to be a coincidence. But she couldn't be alive. He'd watched her die twenty-two years ago. He needed to see the abduction site. He grabbed his sunglasses and coat and headed down to his car. As he pulled out of the parking lot he dialed Beth's number, hitting 'send' as he paused at a stop sign. The other end rang once or twice before Beth picked up.

"Hey," she greeted.

"Hi. Can you meet me at the park?" he asked. He gave her the address.

"Sure I'll see you there," Beth answered and hung up. Mick tossed his phone on the passenger seat as he continued to maneuver through the LA streets. It would be sunset soon and he couldn't wait. The sun felt especially strong today. He finally reached the park and pulled into a spot. As he shut the driver side door, Beth's car pulled in next to him. Mick checked his watch.

"I'm surprised you didn't get pulled over for speeding," he teased as they rounded their cars and headed into the park. Mick surveyed the playground equipment as they took a seat on a bench. Thankfully it was in the shade.

"So what did you need to talk about?" Mick asked, watching a couple of children playing on the jungle gym.

"The kidnappings. Four kids have gone missing," Beth answered.

"I'm surprised you're not covering the story," Mick commented.

"Yeah….Josh asked me not to," she muttered, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"But Mo thinks I'm crazy for not following it. She says its one of the biggest stories of the year," she added.

"Is that what you needed to talk about?" Mick asked. He wanted to be there for Beth but he had to try and find this missing boy before it was too late.

"Not exactly. I just…this brings back memories. I don't know if you know but I was kidnapped as a child," Beth began. Mick had to bite his tongue to keep from saying anything. He couldn't let her know he'd been the one to save her that night all those years ago.

"I don't really remember much but I know I was saved and I can't help thinking how scared these kids must be," Beth sighed.

"A fourth child has gone missing," Mick said calmly. Beth's jaw dropped.

"That's four in the last two weeks," Beth choked out.

"The last boy's parents hired me to find him," Mick informed her.

"Do you think they are all connected?" Beth asked. The police hadn't been sure. The age difference between the first three abductees had varied between six years old all the way up to thirteen.

"I don't know. But the last child was taken from this park," Mick answered. He had the distinct feeling they were all connected. After all three wasn't necessarily a pattern but four definitely was. Beth looked at him and gave him that little smirk that meant she wanted in on the action.

"I don't think you should get involved," Mick said immediately after catching the look.

"Oh come on, Mick. We work really well as a team," Beth begged. Mick let out a sigh. He knew she wouldn't give up until he agreed to her request. The sun had begun to sink below the trees and he had to shield his eyes.

"Ok. Come on. I need to look at the scene," he said, standing up. She jumped up and followed after him. The area was still cordoned off with police tape. They ducked under it and looked around. It wasn't very big. But it did provide sufficient cover for the abductor to escape with Michael.

"Do you have a picture of what the boy looks like?" Beth asked. Mick reached into his pocket and pulled out the picture. He handed it to her and bent down close to the ground. He closed his eyes and inhaled as deeply as he could. What he got was faint but it was enough.

Michael had been kicking a ball back and froth with a boy a few years older. They looked like they could be related. The ball rolled into jungle gym and the older boy ran off after it. Michael stood giggling when a figure appeared out of the woods. It moved quickly and quietly. Michael didn't even scream as she grabbed him. She picked him up and moved at lightning quick speed back into the woods. Just as she was almost out of sight, she turned around.

Mick gasped as he saw her face. It was a face he would never forget, no matter how long it had been. It was Coraline. He didn't know how but it had to be her. But it wasn't possible. She was dead, long gone. Beth's voice finally brought him back from his whirring thoughts.

"Mick," she said. He blinked and stood up.

"Yeah?" he asked as she handed the picture back.

"You sort of zoned out. Is that a…vampire thing?" she asked.

"Sort of. Look I need to go…get out of the sun," he muttered. He ducked under the tape and headed for the parking lot. Beth was at his side in minutes.

"Did you…find anything?" she asked. She was still relatively new to all the intricate workings of the vampire mind.

"Something but I need to talk to some people," Mick answered. She opened her mouth to say she'd go with him when he stopped her.

"It's something I need to do alone. I think you should talk to Carl and see what he says. You might try to convince him to look at this as a serial kidnapper," Mick said hastily. Beth's face fell a little but she nodded.

"Ok…I'll keep in touch," she said and went fishing for her keys in her purse. Mick climbed into his car and pulled out without waiting for her to get in her car. He pressed the gas pedal down as he raced through LA traffic. He hated rush hour. He finally pulled off the highway and pulled up to the large penthouse apartment. He cut the engine and walked up to find Josef ending a phone call. He held his hand up to Mick and Mick waited while Josef finished the call.

"What can I do for you?" Josef asked.

"I think…I think Coraline is back," Mick said.


	2. Explain This Away

_Explain This Away_

Josef just stared at his friend for a minute. Mick had definitely said Coraline was alive. A part of him wasn't surprised, but he had to keep that part quiet.

"Mick, Coraline is dead," Josef reminded his friend.

"I know but…I don't know how but it's her," Mick rambled.

"Did you see her?" Josef asked.

"Sort of," Mick answered, knowing Josef would want more information. He was trying to get this all straight in his mind. How could Coraline be alive now? He'd killed her twenty-two years ago. Sure enough Josef fixed Mick with that look that said 'explain'.

"There was another kidnapping and I went to check out the scene. I saw what happened. It was definitely Coraline," Mick answered.

"But you didn't physically see her," Josef stated and Mick nodded.

"Mick…this seems a lot like what happened twenty-two years ago. Maybe you're just a little too close to it to see what's really going on," Josef commented.

"I'm not crazy, Josef. I know what I saw. I saw Coraline walk out of the woods and take this little boy," Mick said heatedly, handing Josef Michael's picture. Josef glanced at the photograph and handed it back.

"Why were you there in the first place?" Josef asked.

"His parents hired me," Mick answered.

"I don't want to doubt what you saw but we both know Coraline died a long time ago," Josef reiterated.

"I…I never when back to check for ashes," Mick admitted. Josef's brow furrowed. That was a strange admission.

"You never told me that," Josef breathed. This was getting complicated.

"I need to see if Beth found anything at the station," Mick sighed and headed down the stairs. Josef watched him go and couldn't help but feel deceitful. There was something about that night that Mick didn't know either.

Mick drove around for a little while before calling Beth's cell phone.

"Beth Turner," she greeted.

"Beth, it's Mick. How'd it go with Carl?" he replied.

"I haven't talked to him yet. He's in an interrogation," Beth answered. Mick stopped at a red light and thought for a minute.

"Do you think you can look through his files and get the addresses of the three other abductions?" Mick asked just as the light turned green and he pressed down on the gas.

"I can try. Why what are you thinking?" Beth answered.

"I'll explain later. Just see if you can get the addresses and then meet me at my place," Mick explained and hung up. He reached his apartment and waited for Beth to show up.

At the station, Beth looked around her. Most of the officers were preoccupied with their own work. She let out a breath and moved closer to Carl's desk. She pulled out a notebook and a pen. As inconspicuously as she could she began looking through the files on his desk. She finally found the kidnapping files. She was about to pick the first up and look through for the address when she heard footsteps behind her. Beth spun around to see another officer just walking by.

"Come on, Beth," she mumbled to herself under her breath.

She turned back to the desk and continued to look through the report. She finally found the address and was about to reach for a pen when an idea hit her. She pulled her phone form her pocket and snapped a picture of the paper. She pushed the report aside and moved on to the next one. She figured the reports were all formatted the same and flipped to the second page, smiling as she found her theory to be correct. Just as she had snapped a picture of the last address and closed the report she heard Carl's voice. She closed the report and stepped back a few paces, leaning on the edge of his desk.

"What can I do for you Beth?" Carl asked.

"I was just wondering if you had any leads on the kidnappings," Beth stated.

"I thought you weren't covering this story," he commented.

"I…I'm not but…Mick got hired by one of the families and he was busy talking to them so he asked me to stop by and ask you for him," she rambled.

"Ok. They don't seem to be connected," the cop answered.

"Oh…well Mick thinks they might be…a hunch," Beth muttered. Carl just nodded and Beth turned to go. She had a vague idea of what Mick might be using the addresses for as she climbed into her car. As quickly as she could, she pulled onto the highway and headed in the direction of Mick's apartment. When she finally got there she jumped out of the car. She walked in the front of the building and looked at the elevator. It said it was on flour five. She opted for the stairs; they would get her there faster. So she pushed the door open and began to catapult herself up a few stairs at a time. She finally reached Mick's door and knocked, trying to catch her breath. She could hear him beyond the door talking.

"Yes…I think I found some footprints the police may have missed at the crime scene. I'm investigating it now. I'll let you know what I find," she heard him say and then there was a 'click' as he hung up.

"You ok?" Mick asked as he opened the door.

"Yeah…fine…I just ran up the stairs," she answered as she walked in. Mick laughed a little.

"That's why man invented elevators," Mick snickered.

"I got the addresses," Beth replied, pulling out her phone. Mick eyed her oddly at first until she pulled up the first image. He nodded and led her over to his desk. He had already pulled a second chair over.

"So what exactly are we doing with these?" she asked as he pulled up the internet and began to enter the addresses into Goggle Maps. After inputting the three addresses from Beth's phone he pulled out a scrap of paper and typed in that address as well.

"We're going to see if there is any central location to all of these," Mick replied. It should be obvious. Beth just nodded and gave a small noise of understanding.

The map appeared on the right side of the screen and both turned their eyes to it. The spots weren't exactly equidistant from each other but they were definitely in a confined area.

"You'd think the police would think to do this," Beth muttered as Mick tried to get the map to show buildings in the area.

"They probably have better software," Mick grumbled.

"What did you tell the boy's parents?" Beth asked as he continued to search.

"I told them I thought I found some missed footprints. I couldn't exactly tell them how I work," he answered as he finally got the page to load correctly.

"That freaky thing where u can smell stuff that happened?" Beth asked. Mick cracked a smile and nodded. Maybe telling Beth who and what he was hadn't been such a bad idea. She did make things entertaining with her questions.

"Something like that," he replied as a list of residences and businesses appeared on the left side of the screen.

"So what did you see?" she pressed. Could he really tell her what he'd seen? That his supposedly dead ex-wife was really alive and kidnapping children…again. He didn't want to open up that can worms. It was probably better that Beth didn't remember what had happened when she was a child.

"The kidnapper walking out of the woods while Michael's older brother…maybe a cousin I wasn't quite sure, was off chasing a ball," Mick answered vaguely. Beth nodded. She wanted to hear more but Mick had turned his attention back to the search. She looked over his shoulder as he scrolled down the page.

"Wait, go back," she said, lifting her hand to point.

"What?" he asked, scrolling until she tapped the screen.

"There…a motel," she answered. Mick's brow furrowed. Would Coraline really risk keeping for kids in a motel room? Would she have the money to pay for it? What about cleaning personnel? All of these questions whizzed through his mind at lightning speed. It was as good a guess as any but given her circumstances he would bet it was wrong.

"It seems too risky to keep four kids in a motel. It doesn't provide much privacy," Mick replied.

"What about that house…it's for sale," she commented. Mick clicked on the link and a picture came up. It was central for the most part to all four crime scenes and would be a safer place to hide kids. Mick couldn't help but think back to when he's rescued Beth all those years ago.

"That sounds like a possibility," Mick answered and within a split second Beth was on her feet.

"Let's go then," she said, motioning for him to follow. Mick slowly stood but did not follow her.

"Beth…wait. There's something you need to know," he called. She slowly turned around and walked back towards him.


	3. Will You Remember Me

_Will You Remember Me_

"What is it?" Beth asked as Mick led her to the nearby couch. So much for trying not to bring up what had happened to her as a child. Mick let out a breath.

"There is something I need to tell you about the kidnapper," he said. She raised an eye brow at him but did not speak.

"She…" he began but she cut him off.

"It's a she?" Beth interrupted.

'Yes…I don't know how but she is back," Mick sighed, knowing Beth would have no idea what he was talking about.

"Wait…what do you mean 'she's back'?" Beth interrupted again.

"The woman that took Michael and I have a feeling she took the other three kids…is my ex-wife, Coraline," Mick replied.

"You're ex-wife? I thought you said she died a long time ago," Beth murmured.

"I thought she had. But I saw her take Michael," Mick muttered, sinking into the chair across from her.

"You never told me how she died…" Beth murmured, not sure if what she had said was right, especially if Mick thought Coraline was alive. Mick couldn't look at Beth. He didn't want her to freak out with the answer to her question.

"She…she was burned," Mick answered, eyes cast downwards.

"Like…the way you'd kill a vampire?' she asked and he nodded.

"She was one wasn't she," Beth breathed.

"I told you she turned me on our wedding night," Mick reminded her.

"I'm sorry. Who killed her?" Beth breathed, reaching out her hand to take his. He pulled it away. He stayed silent. He'd been afraid of this. But maybe her knowing would keep her safe this time. Maybe knowing what had happened to her would keep her away so he could make sure that Coraline really died this time.

"Mick," she called, snapping him back to reality.

"I did," he finally answered. She looked confused.

"I killed Coraline…or I thought I did," he sighed. He really didn't want to do this. He wanted to leave Beth out of this and deal with Coraline himself.

"W-why would you do that?" Beth stammered.

"I had to. She…she took a little girl and to make sure she was safe, I had to kill Coraline," Mick replied, hoping he'd used vague enough language that she wouldn't figure it out.

"Wait she's kidnapped before?" Beth asked, starting to feel a very strange feeling come over her. She had already told Mick she'd been kidnapped as a child. Beth shut her eyes and blurry images filled her mind. She was a little girl, hiding in the corner as her captor fought with…someone. S he could never remember his face.

"Beth," Mick called, drawing her back from her thoughts. Beth's eyes flew open and she jumped. It was like clarity had finally hit her.

"It was her…she kidnapped me didn't she," Beth gasped.

"I…yes," Mick admitted. He couldn't blame her for remembering on her own. He just hoped he could still keep her safe.

"And…you saved me. When I was a little girl," Beth continued. Mick could only nod. Beth's mouth hung open a little and he expected her to be angry for him not telling her. Instead she got up and pulled him into a hug. He was taken so off guard that he fell out of the chair. She finally let him go and blinked at her.

"You're…not mad?" he asked.

"No…I'm not mad, Mick. I finally found my guardian angel. For years I could never figure out who you were. Now I know," she replied, squeezing his hand. Mick just stared at her. How could she not be mad that he'd known their connection and had not told her?

"You killed her to save me," she breathed.

"Looks like I didn't do so well with that," Mick grumbled. Beth couldn't help but laugh a little bit.

"Come on. Let's go check that house out," she said, offering her hand to him.

"Beth I…I think you should stay here," he said.

"Why?" Beth asked.

"I don't want you getting hurt. Coraline is dangerous. I have no doubt that she's back…doing this so I would know it was her," Mick answered.

"I'm going with you. Someone has to get the kids out of there," Beth retorted.

"She went after you once. I don't want anything to happen to you again. I have spent the last twenty two years making sure you were safe," he said. Beth stopped at that statement. Had he really just admitted to her that he'd been watching over her since she was a little girl?

"You…you watched over me?" she rasped, her throat feeling dry.

"Yes. I don't want her to hurt you, Beth. I could never forgive myself," Mick answered. Just then her phone began to ring loudly. She stepped back and answered it.

"Hello?" she said.

"Beth, where are you?" Josh asked. Beth's brow furrowed. Why was he calling her now?

"I'm working. Why?" she answered.

"I thought we were going to do an early dinner," he said. Beth checked her watch and let out a groan. She had said that and it was almost four o'clock.

"I completely forgot. I'm so sorry. I can't really leave right now. Can we eat a little later?" she replied.

"Yeah…sure. What time works?" he answered.

"I'll be over at seven," she said.

"See you at seven. I love you," he said.

"Love you too," she murmured and hung up the phone. Mick had disappeared. Beth looked around her but didn't see him. She thought she heard a noise to her left and walked in that direction, finding Mick in a small room. He was looking at a photograph in a frame. Beth stopped when she was at his side and looked at the picture. She guessed it was Coraline. The face looked vaguely familiar.

"You still care for her don't you," Beth said softly.

"I loved her until she turned me into this…monster," he answered, setting the picture down.

"How do you think she survived?" Beth asked as they stood there. Mick shrugged. He would love to know the answer to that question. But he was fairly certain Coraline wouldn't be up to sharing that information with him.

"I have no idea," Mick answered. He took a deep breath. He would need to make sure she stayed dead this time. No matter what it took he'd make sure she would go after no more children.

"We should get going. We don't want to give her the chance to make it five missing kids," Beth murmured, placing a gentle hand on his arm.

"She won't hurt them," Mick sighed.

"Taking them from their families hurts them," Beth stated a little more sharply than she'd intended.

"She had to make sure I saw the pattern and knew it was her," he mumbled mostly to himself.

"Mick…these kids' lives are at stake. We have to go," Beth said, tugging on his sleeve. Her voice finally seemed to draw him back to the present. He knew that Beth was right. Even if Coraline didn't hurt the kids once she'd taken them, taking them was enough trauma.

"Ok…just…listen to me when I tell you to stay in the car this time," he said. Beth laughed.

"Ok….I promise," she replied and they headed for the door. However, they wouldn't be going anywhere. Just as Mick reached for the door handle, the door swung open to reveal Josef on the other side.

"Josef, what's going on?" Mick asked, having to step back to allow the door to open.

"We need to talk," Josef answered, eying Beth.

"We were in the middle of something," Mick said.

"I wanted to tell you that I believe you…that Coraline is still alive," Josef stated.

"What changed your mind?" Mick asked.

"I went to that park. I saw what you saw," Josef mumbled, not looking at Mick.

"Josef…I never told you were the scene was. How do you know she's alive?" Mick stated, seeing through his friend's lie. Josef stood still for a minute, trying to collect his thoughts. He knew that Mick would be angry with him. But Mick needed to know the truth, especially if he was going to try and go up against her again. Maybe this time he could make things right.

"I know because….I know how she survived that night," Josef sighed.

"You know how she escaped the fire?" Beth interjected. Josef was about to open his mouth to make a comment when Mick cut him off.

"She knows, Josef. She knows everything," Mick said. Josef cleared his throat. That was a little inconvenient. She'd no doubt be on Mick's side.

"I see," the older vampire commented. He took a deep breath and exhaled through his nose.

"So…how did Coraline escape that night?" Mick asked. Josef didn't answer right away. He walked further into the apartment and sat down at the fireplace. His eyes followed the dancing flames. He'd always liked the centerpiece.

"Josef," Mick called. Josef finally looked up.

"How?" he repeated.


	4. Loyal Until the End

_Loyal Until the End_

Josef swallowed and cleared his throat again. It shouldn't be this difficult. But he'd been hiding this for a long time.

"I was there that night," Josef admitted.

"What?" Beth and Mick asked in unison.

"I had a suspicion she was back and…I wanted to see for myself. I didn't know what she'd done," Josef continued. Mick couldn't believe what he was hearing. Josef had been at the hotel that night.

"You're telling me you helped her?" Mick demanded. Josef could only nod his head. For a vampire with considerable power and prestige, he could be a real wuss sometimes.

"Josef, why…what possessed you to help her?" he yelled. Beth took a step back. She wasn't used to seeing Mick react that way. Apparently Josef wasn't expecting quite this reaction either.

"She was a friend, Mick," Josef replied, his voice steady.

"You knew what she was and you still helped her escape," the younger vampire spat. He turned his back on Josef. This couldn't be happening. Josef couldn't have saved her life and kept it a secret. Friends didn't keep secrets like that from each other.

"I thought maybe saving her would give her a second chance…to move on," Josef finally said. Mick just glared at Josef. Beth let out a breath, having watched the argument. She didn't want to get in the middle but she didn't want to see it escalate any further. She'd already witnessed what happened when two vampires went at it.

"Mick," she said softly, trying to place a gentle hand on his arm. He looked at her and she couldn't help but let a small gasp escape her lips. He had changed and it scared her.

"I think…we should go," she stated, pulling her hand away. Maybe if they just got away from Josef, Mick would be able to calm down and think a little more clearly. Then again, it seemed he didn't think too clearly when Coraline was involved. Mick couldn't speak. He didn't know what he felt right now. He wanted to be angry at Josef. He had ever right to be furious with Josef. But he also knew that those children needed to be rescued.

Beth stood back as she watched Mick calm down a little. He still didn't say anything as they walked out the door. Beth sent a fleeting glance back at Josef. She felt a little guilty leaving him there. But he'd betrayed Mick…and her. Maybe she hadn't been as safe as either she or Mick had thought the last twenty two years.

"Mick…are you ok?" Beth asked as they climbed into his car. At first Mick didn't respond and that worried Beth. She didn't know what he would do.

"He saved her…after all he knew I'd been through with her," Mick ranted as he just barely paused at a stop sign.

"You can stop her…for good Mick. But we need to have a plan," Beth murmured.

"I want to help," she added.

"Help me get the kids out….and thee call the police," Mick said, his voice stiff and cold. Beth merely nodded her head. She didn't like this Mick very much. They drove on in silence until they reached the property. The house was mostly dark and it looked quiet enough. Mick listened as carefully as he could. He could discern four erratic heartbeats within the house.

"They're here," he said as they stepped from the car.

"How are we supposed to get them out of here without her noticing?" Beth hissed as they inched closer to the front of the house.

"You focus on getting them out. Let me worry about Coraline," he said. He pulled the front door open and crossed the threshold. He had no doubt Coraline knew he was here. He listened for the heartbeats and turned left. They slowly navigated through the dining room and kitchen.

"Down there," he whispered, pointing to the door in front of them.

"You've got to be kidding me," Beth groaned. Mick pulled the door open and slowly headed down the stairs. When he reached the bottom he couldn't help but feel a sense of déjà vu wash over him. It felt so familiar. Beth gripped his shirt, feeling the same feeling, looking at the dark surroundings. The children had heard their footsteps on the stairs and crowded together. Beth saw them and her heart broke. She knew how scared they must be. She pushed past Mick and bent down in front of them.

"It's ok. You're going to be ok. We're going to get you out of here," she said, extending her hand to Michael.

"I want to go home," he whimpered. She picked him up and held him close. A little girl clutched Beth's free hand and she let them up the stairs. As they reached the top of the stairs, Beth felt a strange feeling, the small hairs on the back of her neck prickling.

"Come on," she said and led the kids out the front door and back to Mick's car.

"Is the lady coming back?" the little girl asked.

"No. You're safe. I promise," Beth answered and pulled out her cell phone. Just as she was about to dial 9-1-1, she saw a blur whiz past her. None of the kids had seemed to notice it. She hesitated. Maybe she should wait until Mick came out to call the police.

Back in the house Mick was looking around, silently daring her to show herself. He knew she was there. He could feel her presence, just like he could that night years ago.

"I know you're here," he called out. From behind the staircase a figure emerged, dressed in a soft light green dress. Coraline gave Mick a small smile.

"I knew you'd find me," she said.

"You put those kids' lives in danger, Coraline," Mick said.

"They were safe," Coraline answered.

"You haven't changed," he shot, looking away from her.

"Mick…we can still be together," she whispered, reaching a hand up to turn his face back to look at her.

"No, Coraline. We can't. You should have died that night," Mick replied.

"And I'm not going to make the same mistake again," he said, pushing her away from him. Neither of them noticed the footsteps on the stairs until a voice spoke.

"Neither am I," Josef said, causing both vampires to look up. He held a canister in his left hand. He descended the last few steps and walked right up to Coraline.

"I made a mistake that night, saving you," he said softly as he began to empty the canister's contents onto her.

"What are you doing?" she coughed.

"Making sure you don't survive this time," Josef replied, stepping back. He looked at Mick. Mick was still trying to process what had just happened. Had Josef really just poured gasoline all over her? Was he now giving Mick the 'ok' to light her on fire? Mick swallowed but pulled the lighter from his pocket. It wasn't much of a flame but it would do. He tipped it forward and it sparked on her dress. He watched her face as the flames rapidly consumed her garment. She fell the floor, her mouth open but no sound passing through her vocal chords.

"Come on," Josef yelled, dragging Mick up the stairs and out of the house. Just as they reached the car, smoke began to billow from the downstairs windows.

"Did you call the police?" Mick asked. Beth nodded.

"Is the bad lady gone?" Michael asked. Mick looked down and couldn't help but give the boy a smile.

"Yes Michael. She's gone and she isn't coming back," Mick answered, shifting his glance to Beth. She gave him a warm smile.

Shortly several police cars arrived and began to load the kids into cars. Mick knew he'd be talking to Michael's parents in the morning. Right now, he had other things to worry about. He went and stood by Beth after they'd both given brief statements to Carl.

"So she's really gone this time," Beth sighed.

"Yeah…When they put the fire out, I'll go back and make sure there are remains, just so I know," Mick answered. Beth glanced over her shoulder to see Josef standing there, watching the house burn.

"You going to forgive him?" she asked. Mick let out a breath.

"He shouldn't have done what he did…but he came through in the end," Mick sighed. Beth took that as her cue to leave . She gave Josef a small nod as she passed him and he took Beth's spot next to Mick.

"I should have told you a long time ago," Josef muttered.

'Yeah…you should have…but you made up for it tonight. Thank you," Mick said. He and Josef shook hands. The last few weeks had been trying for them all. Beth and Mick had relieved their first meeting and Josef had managed to redeem himself. It is the small things that remind you why you work so hard at being a good person, the small things like the innocence of a child.


End file.
